Remember the “M*A*S*H” episode where Hawkeye started craving barbecued ribs? They were shipped to the unit (in South Korea) and just as the team was about to dig in, Radar signaled incoming wounded. Hope deferred.

“Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.” Prov. 13:12

I think our country is craving principles–integrity, character, truth, honesty, rationality, dignity. Joseph Goebbels said, “If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it.” We see that, but it’s not true of all people. And all of us are susceptible, because we’re human. But I sense a turning, a longing, an awareness of what we’re missing. It’s becoming stronger. It’s all we can think about.

The tree of life is an ancient symbol and religious archetype. In the Bible, it first appears in the Garden of Eden. In the Book of Revelation, it returns to heal the nations and bring eternal light.

There’s a theory that if we could see Pure Love, without its misinterpretations, nobody (or very few) would reject it. 1 John 4:8 says God is love. I take that to mean pure love.The tree of life. Deep in our hearts, I think we’re longing for it.